anonymous

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Jan 4th 2011!⃝

I believe that this song is certainly anti-authority, but in the sense that the authority inherent in society is often derived from Scripture. To understand Graffin takes some time, and I am certainly not an expert (only he is), but being a BR fan for many years, and following his interviews, books, et al, this song strikes me as a sarcastic model created around the idea that authority figures use religion to prop up their own place in such a paradigm, and therefore when they cease this practice, "there will be sorrow ... no more."

When such figures no longer use such clauses as "The Divine Right of Kings," or the concept that the Pope is the spokesman for God, then the yoke is thrown off, everyone is left to a meritocracy, and individuals are reliant upon their own deeds and words, without consideration that such may come from a "greater Being."

It may be easy to assume that this is a father-to-son song about disappointment within the first line, but if one considers "father" to be God, and "son" to be "the flock" then there is a new dimension involved. But the great thing about Graffin is that he constructs his words to allow one to question and form their own interpretation, just as he advocates for so many other aspects of life.